This year has been quite a good year for unique, fresh dual-stick shooters. Revolt is definitely unique. How is it unlike the others? Read on...

Gameplay

After the year 2012, robots begin to take over and enslave humans under the guidance of the Enlightened Ones. A human working under the robots decides to revolt. His name is Guy.

Revolt features a story mode and, like all other dual-stick shooters, a survival mode. The story mode consists of eight levels and three difficulty modes, Easy, Normal, and Hard. As you progress through each level, you collect resources from different bots you kill to upgrade old weapons and to buy new ones, along with upgrades for armor.

Controlling Guy is done with a left stick to move and a right stick to fire, along with a button to dive and roll, which when pressed will cause Guy to roll, avoiding any projectiles firing at him, this is a great addition to the control scheme and it works very well. There are also grenades, EMP bombs and gas bombs which are thrown by tapping and holding the grenade icon and dragging to where you wish to throw them. If you tap on the grenade icon, you can switch between different hand grenades. The game has an easy control for reloading your weapons: just tap and hold the weapons icon and to switch between weapons you simply tap the gun icon.

As a top down 3D dual stick shooter, Revolt also has find a way to deal with camera views. You can swipe the screen to control the camera, and you will also have to tap on Guy to enter center it again. While this isn?t that hard to do while Guy is standing idle, it can be somewhat cumbersome when you are being attacked by robots. It would be good to have an option for an automated camera control.

The story mode features 8 levels that are packed with lots of various enemies and destructible environments (8 different types of robots to be exact, and there is one boss at the end of the game). However, even though each level is different and varied, as you progress through the robots' headquarters and factories, some have corridors which tend to look the same after a while and with no map to check and see just where you are, it can be easy to get lost in a few levels. But while it does generate a minor annoyance, it doesn?t break the enjoyable gaming experience overall. Another thing to watch out for in the story mode is that there are no checkpoints for mid-level, so if you exit the app and come back to it later without completing a level, you have to start all over.

Revolt's great achievement isn't necessarily its somewhat short story mode, but rather in its fun non-stop action survival mode, with 20 randomized arenas and upgradable weapons. Among high quality dual stick shooter games, that?s ton of gameplay to pack into a game that costs $1.99. There is also an option for a lights-off mode, which has Guy holding a flashlight, and you can only see enemies that you shine the light on. It's a great addition to the game, and really can add to the tension of the game, enhancing the replay value. There isn?t yet a multiplayer mode, but the developer has already promised an update that will include multiplayer mode. Can?t wait!

Graphics & Sound

The graphics in Revolt look extremely polished with sharp environments, smooth actions and nice level designs. The developer played nicely with lighting effects that enhance the visual and help immerse players in the gameplay. Everything you see on the screen is top-notch.

The sound is also done well, with great epic-style music soundtracks and lots sound effects that perfectly compliment the gameplay and the graphics. The arrangement works very well to accompany the actions on the screen, and you won?t be bored after a couple of levels listening the music and will enjoy the sound FX. There isn?t yet support for iPod music.

Conclusion

Overall, while this game is not without minor flaws, it is still a great game and a tremendous effort for a two-man team. It's a well polished action packed game that is fun every minute of it. Revolt is a great shooter, one that may well revolutionize the dual-stick shooter genre and an amazing addition to any dual-stick shooter fan's collection. The universal binary will work on the iPhone, iPod touch as well as iPad.

Ratings (scale of 1 to 5):

Graphics: - 5 - The graphics look great and well-polished.Sound: - 5 - Sound is well done, with epic soundtracks and great sound effects.Controls: - 4.5 - The controls are great, and while they work very good, it would be nice to see an automated camera option in future updates.Gameplay: - 5 - Revolt is a wonderful game, with destructible environments, lots of replay value and is an awesome shooter all the way around.

Playing Hints and Tips:

- Be sure to roll a lot, it helps, especially when there's lots of robots firing at you.